Prioritizing, integrating, and communicating sustainability to prevent social washing

Nowadays, companies are under increasing pressure to adopt social sustainability programs to effectively respond to both stakeholder expectations and new policies. Social sustainability plays a critical role in shaping ethical operations, inclusive workplaces, and long-term corporate legitimacy. However, compared to the environmental aspect, more research is needed to discover new and effective paths for properly embedding social sustainability into business practices. Accordingly, this paper analyses how companies prioritize and assess social sustainability practices, how they integrate such practices into their corporate strategy, and how effectively they communicate the social commitments to the stakeholders. These objectives are pursued by adopting both qualitative and quantitative methodologies and analyzing 208 Italian companies. The findings reveal that companies prioritize five sustainable development goals, specifically: decent work, health and well-being, gender equality, quality education, and reduced inequality. These dimensions are frequently verified through external certifications and awards. At the same time, the integration of social sustainability into the corporate strategy requires several soft skills in addition to adaptability, flexibility, and responsiveness. Moreover, many companies communicate their social sustainability through reports, official websites, and social media, facilitating stakeholder awareness; hence, stakeholders can be effectively engaged through structured surveys, interviews, and meetings. Finally, to ensure credibility and avoid social washing, companies employ internal audits, adopt international standards, and invest in transparency tools to assess their social impact.